Carnatic Music, it is open source

Few weeks ago, an announcement by young Vidwan T.M.Krishna to withdraw from the famous Chennai December season shocked a lot of rasikas, stirred a controversy in the (English) media, a few murmurs in the corridors of Sabhas. So far it has not shown any signs of becoming a great controversy to hit the Carnatic Music scene since the Tamil Isai controversy in the mid-twentieth century.

Chennai music season, though a political by-product of Independence Movement, survived on the strength of great musicians, waned a little over 70s & 80s, revived in the 90s, and developed in the last two decades as one of the largest global cultural festival.

The revival since 90s, explosion in the number of Sabhas, increasing number of day long concerts, great number of young performers, good amount of money have been a result of few things – one large corporate sponsorships, NRI money and enthusiastic crop of young artists from India and a few NRIs.

One of the complaints Krishna makes is about that the commercial aspect and NRI influence. Yes, it has become commercial, but there are good and bad sides to it as any other issue.

It is a well known fact that since the kingdoms and darbars disappeared, performing arts was at the mercy of a few government grants, individual acts of generosity and to a large extent indifference to it by larger populace. Great musicians and composers have lived and died in penury, a few survived on the support of rasikas and some were able to earn fame and money through it.

Krishna and his friends also accuse Brahmin community of appropriating Carnatic music – want to state here two examples. The great composer, part of the celebrated Trinity, Muthuswami Dikshitar was poor, lived in poverty. Papanasam Sivan, the great 20^thcentury composer was so poor, that he even said the reason for his lean frame was the starvation he faced as youngster. Later days he became one of the earliest film composer who gave top notch hits with biggest star of those times M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar.

Did great souls like these “appropriate” music, if so what for, to confine it to a few, to make money, for what purpose would they do it?

If a corporate sponsorship today makes it possible for us to listen to concerts here for free, do we protest, saying no, no we will pay? Similarly why should we protest if an artist were to make a comfortable living, or even get rich due to the commerce of music?

Can we imagine an Auditor Sanjay Subrahmanyan expanding his repertoire day, by day, experimenting with all the Melakarta ragas in the chart? A success story like Subramanyan is an inspiration for many other professionals who want jump from a well paying job to music as a full time career.

These are days when piracy is impossible to stop, even legitimate and the main source for artist is the “Kutcheri” income. Not many might be in a situation like Krishna who willingly gave up charging for his concerts and demanded they be thrown open free for audience.

This is where the annual “Kutcheri” season in Cleaveland is as important to Mylapore musicians as much as the Chennai season. Increasing migration, again the socio-political story of this migration has to be read in consonance with a particular community dominating Carnatic music. That is too large a topic to be covered here. But, the dollar earnings and in turn the slot for NRI singers in Chennai are a quid-pro-quo that may not be a long lasting phenomenon.

“It is high time we seriously engage with ideas such as exclusivity, appropriation, ownership, ideas on public spaces and socio-political-cultural barriers with more nuance and humility,” demand Krishna. Yes, let us do it by all means, in the appropriate socio-political-economic background without trying to destroy a performing art painstakingly built and preserved by Saints and Stalwarts.

“What we see as free and normal is many times self-serving and closeted. I know the music is still going to be niche, but the question is who comprises the niche?” asks Krishna. Yes, we accept that too.

When Carnatic music came out of the temples, Bharatanatyam moved from “naalu kaal mandapams” to confined “Kutcheri” halls it was hailed as secularising music and dance. Today, the same seems closed and confining. But, don’t we already have an answer for that in technology. No single person holds any copyright to Carnatic Music. From lyrics, to notations, to online lessons to google hangouts, skype classes have already broken the closets and scattered them all over cyberspace, with no boundaries and no confinement.

 

“I was soon invited to provide a syllabus from Class I-VIII for “Music Education in Schools” by the Manmohan Singh Government and I do hope that the new government will revive this syllabus and introduce both Carnatic and Hindustani in schools across the country. Children respond to the arts well, and they might be further groomed to become performers or organisers involved in the classical music industry,” suggested Vidwan Chitravina Ravikiran in a rebuttal to the charge that Carnatic Music is not inclusive.

Chennai itself has had a Music College and Kalakshetra both government institutions which teach music and dance to all, without barriers and even providing scholarship to poor for decades now and run by some of the biggest names in the music and dance fields.

In the fight for reclaiming the rightful place for Tamil in Carnatic Concerts a Tamil Isai Sangam was born. The sangam has over the years stood committed to its cause and the Raja Annamalai Manram, till today holds its annual conference where all the performers stick to Tamil compositions.

 It also had a positive impact on the Carnatic Music scene as a whole when more and more Tamil compositions made their way – from the Sirgazhi Moovar, to Bharatiyar and Papanasam Sivam hailed as Tamil Thyagayya.

Experiments within the confines of tradition have also been happening. For instance the popular Tamil Entertainment channel has been successfully conducting Margazahi Festival with thematic concerts, and can you guess how varied the themes are from Aryogyam to Colours. That this is a vibrant, living tradition – for it is an experiment like singing only Tamil verses from Nalariya Divya Prabandham for full three hours becoming a hit vouches for it.

Only one challenge – there are enough performers today, enough teachers and also enough sponsors. Where is the audience? Krishna has been trying to seek an answer for this taking his music to the fisherfolk at Olcott Kuppam and students at various campuses. One can also see the enthusiastic audience, almost all local villagers either at Thiruvaiyyaru Thyagaraja Aradhana or a Chidambaram Natyanjali. Would these audience redefine the music or the increasing You Tube strollers going to redefine it.  

Some traditionalists are trying to find a balance – they will keep the Carnatic Music Kutcheri intact from a Varnam to a Thillana to a Mangalam but will do fusion and experiments outside. Is that fulfilling from the point of view of a performer as well to the different audience base they may carve out?

 Last week young duo, Trichur Brothers performing for the first time at Shanmukhanada Sabha Mumbai awed the audience with a great, absolutely pure paddhati in a three and half hour concert. Organizers having heard of their “Namami Gange” performance before the Duabi audience during Prime Minister’s visit just days before the concert asked them to repeat at least a part of it. They politely refused to incorporate it in the concert, saying it not only required a large orchestra, but was also a bit western. But, an experimental creation of their inspired by Adi Shankara’s Gangashtakam that has been accepted as an anthem for Clean Ganga campaign was played in full once they had completed their concert.

Recollected this only as a reassuring fact that the tradition of scholarship as received fom the Masters would survive in its purest, and yet it would be a living tradition which integrates various influences and continue to flow uninterrupted.